A NEW swimming programme for serving Royal Navy personnel and their families in Helensburgh has been launched.

Swim Free will enable children and young people from Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary families across the UK to develop and grow their confidence in and around the water.

Greenwich Hospital and the Andrew Simpson Foundation (ASF) have teamed up to deliver the programme, which will provide free swimming lessons aligned to the Swim England and Scottish Swimming pathways and establish the foundations for developing swimming skills for life and potential career opportunities in the future.

Swim Free will initially pilot in Helensburgh, Portsmouth and Plymouth, with plans to establish a comprehensive network of swimming locations across the UK.

Deirdre Mills, director of Greenwich Hospital, said: “Our vision is to enable children and young people from the Naval community to have access, without barriers, to additional swimming lessons, providing them with the opportunity to become confident swimmers throughout their lives.

“We want to create pathways for further opportunities in and around the water for all Naval families.”

The programme will enable young people to discover new swim skills and develop an affinity with the water.The programme will provide family swimming sessions as well as highlighting other water-based activities.

Swim Free will work with local swimming facilities to support families who may struggle to access them, creating opportunities to bring Naval communities together.

Richard Percy, CEO of the Andrew Simpson Foundation, said: “The ASF is delighted to partner with Greenwich Hospital to develop and deliver the Swim Free programme.

“Through Swim Free, we hope to reframe the challenges that young people from Naval families may face by providing access to the benefits of a physical education through enriching experiences and setting young people up with swimming skills for life.”

Research shows that water-based activities can increase physical and mental resilience in young people and help to improve their confidence and self-belief.

Involving Naval families in their local communities is an integral part of Swim Free.

To register your interest in the Swim Free programme, please visit swim-free.org.uk.